History Today

Britain’s involvement in the Middle East between the wars proved a rich seam for authors of adventure stories which, in turn, helped to reinforce the imperial mission.

The Whig interpretation of the past is a moral fable more akin to theology than history, argues Tim Stanley.

Britain’s loss of Singapore in February 1942 was a terrible blow. But Japan failed to make the most of its prize, says Malcolm Murfett.

We should resist using ‘medieval’ as another word for backward. The 15th century, in particular, was a time of remarkable progress and enlightenment.

Of humble origins, Rodrigo Calderón became a key figure at the court of Philip III of Spain. Notorious in life, he gained dignity and immortality in death, as Santiago Martínez Hernández explains.

Trade was the impetus for early contacts between Russia and England, though each country had its own view of how the relationship should function. Helen Szamuely examines the first two centuries of Russian embassies to London.

We downplay terrible acts from the distant past, in a way that we never would when considering more recent crimes, says Tim Stanley.

Roger Hudson explains a moment of panic on the streets of the newly liberated French capital.

The relationship between an ‘unquiet past’ and the concerns of the present has been a key feature of recent engagements with the Spanish Civil War.

Carol Dyhouse questions some of the assertions made by John Gardiner in his 1999 article about the Victorians.